


Warmth

by rhub4rb



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: MariBat, bio!dad bruce wayne
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:34:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26237974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhub4rb/pseuds/rhub4rb
Summary: For bio!dad Bruce Wayne month.This is an interconnected fic that I'm writing and (hopefully) finishing this month.(ON HOLD DUE TO SCHOOL)
Relationships: Undecided
Comments: 100
Kudos: 591
Collections: Maribat Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne Month





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1: Meeting for the first time

The last fight against Hawkmoth had been a blur. A success, sure, but a success that cost her everything. With the reveal of Hawkmoth being Gabriel Agreste, came the loss of Chat Noir, as he left Plagg and the ring behind, never telling Marinette his identity. She could only guess, though she doubted she was wrong.

At first, Marinette thought that was it, that it was the only loss that she would have to lose that day.

But then she got home.

There was an eery quiet to the bakery as she stepped inside. It wasn't unusual for Marinette's parents to vacate to their apartment during an attack, to get away from glass and whatnot, but they would usually be back in the bakery by now to help stragglers from the attack to a cup of hot cocoa and a croissant.

Worry filled in her gut, a sinking feeling inside of her, like an anchor dragging her down to the bottom of the ocean.

Slowly, she walked up the stairs, dread filling her up every step of the way until she was in front of the door. She stopped, holding her breath as she listened for any sound, any sound at all, coming from the apartment.

Silence.

She opened the door, slowly, the creaking sound squeezing her heart like a hand in her chest, and as she looked inside, finally opened her eyes and looked, she could do nothing but let out a heart-wrenching scream.

And the ending, the true ending, was just as much of a blur as what was the beginning. What she thought would have been the end.

There had been burglars that had used the chaos of the final battle against Hawkmoth, to break into the apartment to try and rob them. Her parents had just been unlucky to be home when it happened.

It became a mess of lawyers and child services after that, trying to figure out where Marinette should go, as she tried to hold herself together with the help of Gods and friends. Still, if there was one thing Marinette remembered clearly, it was the day she was told the truth about her father.

_"I'm sure your mother was going to tell you at some point," the family lawyer said, in that voice that sounded like it was meant for a 7-year-old or a scared animal, rather than a teenage girl who risked her life to save the very city they were in, even if he didn't know it. "but... your father is not who you think he is. She wrote down, that if anything were to ever happen to her and Tom, that you were to live with your biological father. I'm sure this comes as a shock to you, so I understand if you need some time to think. We've already contacted him, and he has accepted the responsibility of taking care of you."_

It was so much change in so little time, but Marinette supposed that was nothing new.

* * *

Bruce was at a loss. The last few days had been calm, as calm as they could be in Gotham. He knew something was wrong.

When he got the phone call, his heart had stopped. Sabine, a woman he actually truly cared about, even after their relationship ended abruptly, was gone.

She left him a daughter he didn't even know he had. And he accepted the responsibility of taking care of her, without a trace of doubt or hesitancy in sight.

Marinette, however, was arriving, and he had yet to actually break the news to his family. Heck, he had yet to actually meet the girl himself. Bruce ended up deciding against meeting her at the airport, though. He felt that it was for the best, if not to just keep his family occupied while Alfred got her.

Bruce could tell Tim was suspicious, had been, for the last couple of days, ever since the call. It made sense that Tim would be the first to notice, he had always been the most perceptive. He had yet to actually confront Bruce on the matter though, and that was perhaps for the best because despite having known for a couple of days now that Marinette would be arriving, he still had no idea how to tell his family.

His biggest concern was Damian. He had almost killed Tim over the position of Robin, Bruce didn't know how he would react to his position potentially being contested, though Bruce had no plans of turning Marinette into the next Robin.

Marinette was his blood, his family, and yes, Damian was too, but he was raised by assassins since he was born. Marinette was innocent, and Bruce wanted to protect that. He owed at least that much to Sabine, even if she never told Bruce about Marinette.

In a way, he could understand why Sabine never told him. Even though she never knew he was Batman, she did know he was Bruce Wayne, how he always had a target on his back. Marinette, if she had been with the Wayne name, would have a target just as big, just by association.

Now, Marinette would be leaving her little bubble of safety, of Paris, and come to a town, grittier than she would ever be prepared for.

Bruce supposed he could only do his best to make her feel welcome.

Gathering the boys into the dining room before Alfred arrived with Marinette, Bruce allowed himself to take a deep breath.

"I have something important to tell you, and I need you all to listen to me carefully," Bruce started, leveling a hard gaze at his sons. "A couple of days ago, I got a call, informing how someone very important to me passed away and that... she- left someone very dear to her for me to look after."

Bruce winced at his own wording and wondered for a moment how he had become so bad at telling his family things. Truthfully, he was never really good at it, to begin with.

"Wait, are you telling us you adopted another kid?" Jason asked incredulously, clearly not happy with the news, and by the look on his face, it seemed Damian agreed with the sentiment.

"I didn't adopt Marinette," Bruce said. "I am her father, biologically."

It was ghost-quiet now, as no one dared to utter a word, shock radiating off of them.

And then, there was a knock at the door to the dining room.

* * *

It was a lonely feeling, arriving into a new city, and be greeted by a butler rather than someone who was supposed to be her dad. Still, Marinette thought, at least Alfred seemed nice.

She stayed silent in the car ride to the manor, letting the sound of rain hitting the window lull her into a fake sense of calm and serenity, as she ignored the incoming storm and thunder. Perhaps she was overreacting, nerves and all, but she wondered what a man like Bruce Wayne expected his child to be like.

Would she be disappointing to him? Would she even matter? He already had a family, wasn't she disrupting his peaceful life? Should she even care?

Dejectedly, she let out a sigh. There was so much she didn't know, and this new city filled her with dread, just as suffocating as Paris. She could feel it, seeping from the ground, and infecting the people. Marinette wondered if this was what Paris would become now.

She was pulled out of her thoughts, however, as the sleek black car pulled to a stop, in front of what she could only describe as a victorian dream house, complete with gargoyles and all. She hardly even noticed Alfred opening the car door, umbrella in hand.

As Marinette walked up the steps, she could only truly wish that this would be a place that she could heal. To take a break from all of the responsibility and let herself mourn and grieve, and as Alfred opened the doors of the manor, she allowed herself to take a deep breath in, straighten her back, and lift her head.

She could hear a voice now, muffled behind doors and walls, and all at once fear gripped Marinette's heart like vines with thorns, cutting and never letting go. She tightened her hands into fists and forced herself to calm down, grabbing her emotions and curling them into a ball, throwing them deep into a far off corner in her mind.

The voice stopped talking, total silence filling the room for a moment, only to be interrupted as Alfred knocks on the door, just as calm and collected as he had been from the moment he picked her up from the airport.

He opened the door, and slowly Marinette walked, seeing four different guys, all of whom she supposed were now her brothers, until her eyes landed on Bruce, her dad. Her actual, biological dad.

Marinette's breath was shaky, but she hid her nerves well, something she was very proud of, as she felt the eyes of them all on her.

"Master Bruce," Alfred started, "may I have the honor to present to you your daughter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette's eyes scanned them, reading them in a way they would probably never get, before something finally clicked in her mind, allowing her to breathe, if only slightly. Marinette bowed respectfully to them, rising with a newfound calm centering her.

"It's nice to meet you all," she said, bluebell eyes just shy of calculating.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Father-daughter bonding

Marinette was at a loss. Things had been so easy with her maman and papa. They had game nights on Fridays, baked together in their free time, and were most importantly a family. Marinette doubted she could call what Bruce had a family at times.

At first, she thought that it was just the sibling experience and that it was something she would just have to get used to, but by now, she could even see how Bruce was... cold, at times. Distant and critical in the way that he talked to his family, in a way that almost reminded her of Kagami's mother at times.

Still though, if there was one thing Marinette did not do, it was giving up.

Marinette, with only slight hesitance, sat on the couch in the lunge like room, on the opposite end of where Bruce had sat.

For a moment, neither of them said anything, though Marinette was pretty sure that it was because Bruce simply hadn't noticed her, his attention locked on the book in his hands. Marinette clutched her sketchbook tighter in her hands, opening it slowly as she relaxed her hold ever so slightly.

Part of her thought it was dumb that she was this nervous. He was supposed o be her dad, wasn't he? Yet still, Marinette could feel the distance from him, and she wondered whether it was her own doing or his. She didn't even know what to call him when she 

Slowly, though, she started to sketch, glancing up at him every once in a while. She truly wanted to give it a try, some form of father-daughter bonding, but to be quite honest, she had no idea how to go about it.

Normally, she would have a plan before doing something like this, but truth be told, she could not read the man at all, and it made it just the more harder for her to try and figure out how to talk to him. Marinette felt so ill-prepared to talk to someone who she was supposed to be related to.

Honestly, she was better at talking to her grandpere Roland than she was at talking to Bruce, and that was really saying something.

The thought of her grandpere sent a pang of sadness through her, as she thought of everyone she had to leave behind in Paris. Marinette knew that this was probably the best result that could have happened to her, all things considered, but she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of resentment at everything she had to lose.

She looked at Bruce again, noticed how his shoulders had tensed, how his eyes, though on the page of his book, clearly weren't focused. It seemed he finally noticed her.

It made Marinette stop her sketching for a moment, as her eyes finally met his in a moment of tense silence, the both of them sizing the other up in their minds, trying to read what it was the other wanted out of the potential interaction that was looming over their heads. At least, that was what Marinette felt was happening, as she still hadn't quite gotten a read on Bruce yet.

"Was there something you wanted, Marinette?" Bruce asked, and even if she had a hard time reading him (something which was new for Marinette, when it came to people, really) even she could hear the edge in his voice as if there was something he would rather be doing than spending time with his supposed daughter. It made an uncomfortable feeling churn in her stomach.

"I just- uh, wanted to spend some time with you? I won't bother you or anything I just- uh-"

"Maybe some other time," Bruce cut her off, giving her a look that made Marinette feel like she couldn't quite question his verdict on the matter. "I've been busy the last few weeks, I just want some time for myself."

Marinette looked at him, wide-eyed, before nodding her head quickly, swallowing down the lump in her throat.

"Right, of course," Marinette got up from her seat, her eyes now finding interest in the walls rather than Bruce. "I'll just- go, then."

Dinner that night was awkward, as Marinette tried to make conversation with her family, both Bruce, and siblings, only to find that none of them were really all that happy to speak during dinner.

Perhaps giving up once wouldn't be the end of the world.

* * *

Marinette hadn’t gone down for dinner that day, and instead, had asked Alfred if he could bring her food to her room instead, something which he agreed to. She didn’t eat though, instead choosing to mindlessly push her food around her plate, using her fork as she stared out her window.

Gotham was no Paris, and this manor certainly was no bakery.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock to her door, and quietly, she called out. “Come in!”

It was Bruce, with a worried furrow in his brows. Worry didn’t suit him.

He walked in quietly, sitting on her bed, as Marinette turned around on her desk chair to look at him.

“Is there something you need?” She asked softly.

“I was just wondering why you didn’t join us for dinner tonight,” Bruce said. Marinette noted how his tone was softer than usual.

“Yeah, I just… needed some time, sir,” Marinette explained, somewhat awkward. She still didn’t know what she should call Bruce. Dad? No. And Bruce seemed too informal. So sir it was.

Bruce looked at her for a moment, silent as always. Marinette could feel her throat closing.

“Marinette is something- is something the matter?”

Marinette remained quiet for a moment. She really wasn’t good at these types of conversations.

“No, everything is fine, I just- need to get used to this is all,” Marinette said finally, gesturing around her room. “I’m not used to everything being so… cold. The manor, the people, it’s all just very-- cold,” She shrugged. “I miss playing UMS 3 with my papa, I miss martial arts classes with maman, I miss-- I miss having a family.”

Bruce looked at her, wide-eyed, and unsure of what to say.

“Marinette… You know that I, that we are--”

“Please, sir,” she interrupted, looking at him with the eyes of someone too old to be fifteen. “We both know this isn’t a family.”

An awkward silence settled over them, Bruce trying to understand what she was saying, and Marinette simply not elaborating.

“What, exactly, do you mean by that, Marinette?” Bruce asked.

Marinette sighed as she got up from her chair, sitting herself down softly beside Bruce, fiddling with her fingers.

He didn’t know what to do. He raised his kids with tough love and a moral pillar, neither of those being something Marinette needed. It was true, she was different from the rest, but he didn’t know what to do with that information yet.

“I just need to get used to this, because this will be my new normal from now on,” Marinette said, drying her tears and refusing to meet his gaze. “I just need to find my place here, and I haven’t done that yet. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, either way, I know I won’t experience the same warmth I had at home here,” more tears rolled down her cheek, and Bruce could hear her struggling to keep her voice even. “and I just need to accept that.”

Perhaps Bruce should have spent more time, doing some father-daughter bonding.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Siblings

"So, what are you thinking of your family so far, Marinette?" Tikki asked, in that squeaky light voice of hers, and Marinette paused for a moment, thinking.

Marinette had always wanted siblings, but she had never quite thought that this would be her experience.

She could remember being always so envious of Nino when he got his brother, how, despite the annoyances Nino had with him, he clearly still loved his brother. Marinette wanted that, longed for it for so long.

Now that she has it however, it doesn't feel like she imagined it would. Dick was probably the nicest one so far, but his happy attitude was very... surface level. Maybe, the fact that she could read people's souls was an unfair advantage, but she could see the sadness and anger in him that he refused to show others. She could sometimes look in his eyes and see resentment for Bruce, even if it was for just a second.

Still, she also saw the love he held for his youngest brother, Damian.

Damian was... Marinette didn't quite know how to describe him. He was very stubborn, but Marinette supposed she was the same way. Maybe it was something they got Bruce.

It was clear, however, that Damian was, in fact, not a fan of Marinette, and he didn't exactly do anything to hide it either. 

_"You may be father's other biological child, but I will always be closer to him than you ever will."_

And Marinette supposed that was true. Marinette could clearly see how similar the two were, even without it being pointed out to her. Marinette knew that, in many ways, in perhaps all the ways that counted, she couldn't be more different from Bruce.

If there was anyone in her family she was the most like, Marinette thought, it would be Tim, and she wouldn't lie and say that she wasn't happy about that.

Tim was the most analytical of the bunch, sure, but there was a certain humane-ness to him, that Marinette felt the others... not lack, but hide. It didn't feel like Tim his the fact that he was human, and Marinette loved that about him. It made sense, then, that out of all her siblings, Tim was the one she found herself talking to the most.

Still, if there was one of her siblings she wanted to be closer to, it was Jason.

He wasn't in the manor as much as the others, simply because he wasn't fond of Bruce, and after hearing how he got adopted by Bruce from Alfred, Marinette could understand why.

Jason had been a street kid with nothing, no chance nor hope for a proper future and life. Then Bruce came and adopted him, giving Jason an actual chance to be something, but he trained Jason to become the next Robin. Marinette couldn't help but feel that it was manipulative on Bruce's part.

He comes and takes this kid in, giving him a roof over his head and actual proper dinner and education, but then trains him up to become the next Robin. And what could Jason do? Say no, and maybe risk being kicked out?

Out of all her siblings, Marinette admired Jason the most, simply because of his fighting spirit.

"I'm not quite sure," Marinette says after a moment. "I suppose they all have their strengths and what-not. It's more Bruce that I can't wrap my head around."

She sighed, her eyes locked on her ceiling as she laid in bed.

"I just can't believe it was that easy for me to find the Batcave," she admitted with a snort.

* * *

It was close to midnight and Marinette had yet to go asleep, instead finding herself seated at the dining table with a cup of hot cocoa and her sketchbook. It wasn't new that she couldn't sleep, honestly, and the manor was always at it's calmest during the night.

That may have been because most of its residents were out, but Marinette decided to ignore that fact.

The screeching sound of a chair being pulled out made her look up, eyes locking with the new person in the room.

Jason.

"Mind if I sit?" Jason asked, Marinette noticing the book in his hands and shaking her head. "I know Tim usually keeps you company during the nights, but I thought a change of pace might be nice."

Marinette eyed Jason, trying to read him. She had thought that he would hold resentment towards her, simply because she was Bruce's daughter, but Marinette supposed that if there was anyone who wouldn't judge a person simply because of their heritage, it would be Jason.

She smiled, relaxing her tense shoulders as slowly, she went back to sketching, and faintly, she heard Jason open his books, the sound of pages turning filling the room every once in a while.

Marinette took a breath, letting the scent of pages, ink and hot cocoa fill her senses, calming her nerves, and for the first time since she arrived in the manor, she felt welcome.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: Habits

It wasn't very hard to admit that Marinette was going a bit stir crazy in the manor. Taking a break from patrolling every night was good in the beginning, Marinette didn't really have the energy anymore, but now, it was almost unbearable to stay inside the manor for so long. It didn't help that it seemed Bruce wasn't fond of the idea of Marinette leaving the manor too often.

Marinette found it odd, that a man who seemed to make a habit of turning kids into crime-fighting vigilantes was so against letting her so much as leave. Truly, when Marinette figured them out, she was shocked Bruce didn't see her as free real estate!

So, Marinette felt it was understandable that she was going a little stir crazy from the manor. Perhaps that was what pushed her this far.

"And you know what to do if Alfred or one of the others come knocking at the door?" Marinette asked Trixx, for what was the third time now, causing the small god of illusion to roll their eyes.

"Yes, yes, I'll make myself sound like, and I am to under no circumstance unlock the door, I heard you the first couple of times, you know."

Marinette smiled at Trixx, scratching them under their chin, a fond smile on her lips.

"I know, but I just want to make sure. I have no clue what Bruce would do to any of you if he were to find you, we can't risk it."

Marinette turned her gaze to Duusu, her gaze softening at the timid god, as she saw them avoid her gaze.

"Are you sure it's me you want to take with you?" Duusu asked.

"I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want to," Marinette said, holding out her hands for the little god to land on. "And are you sure that you want to? I can ask one of the others if you would prefer to stay here."

Duusu shook their head, and Marinette's smile grew.

"Well, then there's nothing else left to do than just go, is there?" Marinette nodded at the other kwamis, her gaze lingering on Tikki, as if to tell her that she was in charge while Marinette was gone.

"Duusu, transform me!"

And as the blinding light subsided from her room, Marinette disappeared out her window and out into the night.

* * *

Bruce had a feeling, like a bad premonition, that something was off.

He knew he had a bad habit of either being too controlling over his kids, or not caring about them at all. It was something he had thought about since Marinette had talked with him, how she didn't feel that the Wayne family was... well, a family.

It wasn't the first time one of his kids criticized his parenting, but this was certainly the fastest it had happened, and Marinette wasn't even malicious or harsh when she said what she did, she was honest. It was different from the times Jason would yell at him or Dick would just quietly stare, his disappointment clear in his gaze.

Something about Marinette's words just struck a chord in Bruce.

He heard Damian shift beside him, snapping Bruce out of his thoughts.

"I think I see something," Damian muttered under his breath, his sharp gaze locked on a figure on a building, not far from them.

Bruce couldn't tell much from the figure, the night sky giving them cover and shade, despite the shining lights of the city.

It didn't seem the same could be said for him and Damian however, as the figure suddenly gave chase. Truly, it was pure instinct, pure habit, that both Bruce and Damian ran after them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5: Overprotection

Whoever the person, a girl by the looks of it, was, they seemed to have experience of some kind navigating rooftops, Bruce noted, as she gracefully jumped to the next roof.

They had managed to make up some ground, but she was still ahead of them. Still, Bruce was able to see some of her features more clearly, like her light blue skin and feathered fan, the thought of another meta in his city making him growl internally.

As the girl looked back at him, he could see her eyes more clearly, her blue sclera and pink iris'. The way she moved and appeared showed grace, and Bruce found it almost off-putting.

He would have to notify the rest o the family later on this, the threat of a possible new rogue being something they needed squash as fast as possible.

Bruce knew he was overprotective of Marinette because he wanted to keep her safe from the grittiness of Gotham. He wanted to preserve her innocence, keep safe what he had left of a woman he had genuinely loved. He didn't want the last piece of Sabine he had, be tainted and hurt by rogues and villains.

Suddenly, the girl turned on her feet, just at the edge of the roof, opening her fan up for Batman and Robin to see, their eyes locking with what felt like thousands of others, Bruce's mind getting foggy quickly.

He only came out of it as Damian shook him, the girl already long gone.

"What was that," Bruce growled, more of a statement than a question.

"I'm not quite sure, but I think she might have abilities related to the mind. You feel the fatigue now too, don't you?" Damian pointed out, and he was right. Normally, Bruce would be able to go all night without feeling the need to go to bed, but it now felt as if he had been awake for a month.

"We'll have to cut patrol short, continuing this way will be a liability," Bruce said, though it was clear he wasn't happy about it if the way he was scowling said anything about it.

The rogue's ability made her a threat bigger than what Bruce had been expecting, especially with how young she was. She couldn't be much older than Marinette, Bruce thought.

* * *

The moment Marinette knew she was spotted, she booked it back home, letting out a sigh of relief as Trixx informed her that no one had come to her room to check on her at any point in the night.

That didn't stop Marinette from almost having a heart attack when someone knocked on her door. Her shoulders tense, she frantically motioned for the kwamis to hide, looking at her brooch, debating whether or not to take it off before she opened the door, before deciding to just open the door with it on.

"Jason?" Marinette said, surprised. "I didn't know you were at the manor tonight, I thought you were spending the night with Roy?"

"Ah, yeah, Roy canceled last minuted, some things came up," Jason explained, shrugging.

"I see," Marinette said, waiting for Jason to elaborate as to why he was there, but he remained quiet. "Well... was there something you needed?"

"Yeah, I just know that Bruce is super protective when it comes to you and that you probably aren't to leave the manor much, so I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together, proper sibling bonding and all."

Marinette's eyes widened in surprise, taking her phone out and looking at the time.

"Jason, it's already past midnight."

"And that's gonna stop you?" Jason asked, eyebrow raised.

Marinette pursed her lips, looking at her phone again, before nodding her shoulders slouching.

"Alright. Lead the way, just saying that you will be taking the blame for whatever it is you're dragging me into," Marinette accused, pointing her finger at him menacingly.

Jason held up his hands, stepping out of the way for Marinette to get out of her room. "Who said anything about you into something?" Jason asked innocently.

"It doesn't take a genius to know you don't like Bruce and that you would take whatever chance you can, to piss him off."

Jason snapped his finger and pointed at her, nodding his head in admission. "You are not wrong, but maybe I just want to spend time with my little sister."

"Sure," Marinette said, rolling her eyes. "Let's just go before Bruce's 'dad' senses go off and drags you off the property."

Jason just ruffled her hair as they sneaked down the hall, Marinette batting his hand away, even as he just smirked and did it again.

When they walked out of the front doors, Marinette spotted Jason's motorcycle and was filled with both excitement and foreboding at the same time.

''I think I've figured out how you want to piss Bruce off," Marinette said.

"If you think this is the only way I plan on pissing Bruce off tonight, you underestimate me, Marinette," Jason replied with a grin, handing her a helmet. "Let's go paint this city red."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6: Meeting the Justice League
> 
> Let me tell you, today's chapter is all over the place--

"You," Marinette said, picking up one of her fries and throwing it at Jason. "are a terrible influence."

"I take honor in that statement," Jason said with a grin, causing Marinette to roll her eyes.

After driving around, doing light vandalism on some abandoned buildings, Jason had taken her to a diner for something to eat. Marinette knew that what they did was less than legal, and she could already hear Tikki scolding her in the back of her mind, but quite honestly, it felt good to do something... not good.

It didn't mean that this was a new hobby for Marinette, she wasn't going to go out every night to vandalize random buildings, but there was something so liberating about doing it with Jason.

Marinette was sure Jason knew this too, that there was a bigger reason as to why he brought her out here, to a random diner in the middle of the night, after having run around doing dumb teenager stuff.

The universe seemed to agree with her as well, as Jason's carefree grin soon became something more serious.

"There's a lot of things that Bruce is trying to keep from you," Jason started, his eyes boring into Marinette's own. "I think it's bullshit and that you can make your own choices, but I also know that not all of it is for me to say and reveal, I just want you to be aware that-"

"I am," Marinette said, cutting Jason off. "I've known for... some time now. But, just like you said, there are some things that just aren't for me to reveal.

"Besides, I know I'm different from you, from Damian and Dick and Tim. I've grown up in a radically different reality from the rest of you, so I've never really expected Bruce to treat me the same way he treated you, not that it made it hurt any less.

"It just- it makes it harder for me to see this as a family, you know?" Marinette said, giving Jason a wry grin. "Not that I don't appreciate this. I haven't felt this free in a while, even before I got taken in by Bruce."

Jason blinked at her, mouth gaping in surprise as he took it all in. He hadn't exactly expected her to already know.

"Still, maybe I should be a bit offended but-"

Marinette was cut off by the sound of shattering glass, the few other occupants running screaming for the door as Two-Face and some of his goons came in through the shattered glass. Jason was quick to take a stance in front of Marinette, protective, but it did little as Two-Face's goons were quick to capture the running civilians.

Inwardly, Marinette cursed herself. She had dazed and fatigued both Bruce and Damian. She doubted either of them would be showing up to help them, at least not without being notified somehow.

Taking a breath, Marinette made sure to check that everyone's attention was on something other than her, as Two-Face made his speech, fate and duality and all that. If it weren't for the tight situation, Marinette didn't doubt that something he'd say would resonate with her.

She knew there was no time for that, however, and as she made it inside the freezer of the diner without getting caught, she called for her transformation.

* * *

This was not how Jason had planned this little outing to go. H wanted to relieve Marinette of the no doubt suffocating room she had been stuck in, while also having a genuinely serious conversation with her.

Sure, he did end up doing that, but he hadn't accounted for her already knowing about the whole vigilante thing, or for Two-Face to show up either. If Jason had known, he might have been a little more prepared.

"It seems today just isn't your lucky day," Two-Face said, getting a good look at the people in the diner. "So how about we flip a coin? Clean side and I let one of you go," he said, showing off his infamous silver dollar. "Scarred, and one of you gets shot."

Jason's eyes followed the coin in the air, holding his breath, but before Two-Face was able to get his coin back in his hands, a blue fan flew through the air, hitting the coin, before going back, into the hands of a blue-skinned girl.

Dressed in the colors of a peacock, in what Jason could only assume was clothing inspired by Chinese fashion, the girl held two fans in her hands, both resembling the plumes of a peacock.

"See, I've met Lady Luck, and I highly doubt she appreciates what you're doing here tonight."

Two-Face scowled, making quick eye contact with his goons, and so, they started shooting for the girl.

She seemed unfazed by this however, swinging and twisting her fans in a way that shielded her from the bullets, in what could only be described as a graceful dance, before she abruptly shut one of her fans and threw it at one of the goons, hitting him in the throat with the blunt end. She was quick to run to it, grabbing the fan before there was a chance for her to be overpowered by the other goon and Two-Face.

The blue girl threw her open fan at the other goon, hitting his hand and making him drop his gun, catching the fan once again as it flew through the air.

With surprising speed, she got close to Two-Face, flashing both fans in front of his gaze, his eyes locked at the countless eyes of the feathers, leaving him in what Jason could only describe as a daze. Blue used Two-Face's daze against him, circle kicking him in the chest and sending him flying, grunting in pain as he hit the wall.

Without a moment's hesitation, she turned around and threw a now closed fan into the throat of the other goon, just like she had with the first one.

Silence filled the diner as she quietly retrieved her second fan, this time without a hurry.

Jason was tense, looking at the seemingly call girl, before looking behind him to check on Marinette, only to find her gone, his gaze quickly snapping to that of Blue.

No way.

"You guys wouldn't happen to have any rope, would you? I didn't exactly come prepared," the girl said, grinning sheepishly.

Slowly, one by one, the people in the diner started to clap, Blue's eyes widening at the sudden applause.

* * *

"They may not have a rope, but I do."

Marinette grew tense at the voice and quickly turned around to see none other than Batman standing before her.

That was not good.

He must have heard about what happened then, which was both good and bad. Good, because that obviously meant he was a good vigilante, that didn't take a break, even if his mind demanded it. Bad because he definitely knew she was the one who made his mind demand said break.

"Well then, it seems that I am not needed anymore, I think I'll just-"

"You're coming with me," he cut her off, grabbing her by the shoulder as she tried to get around him.

"Yeah, totally, that was exactly what I was gonna say, one-hundred percent, was not gonna leave."

Marinette could hear the sound of Jason face-palming and by the look on Batman's face, she could tell he wasn't all that impressed either.

After Two-Face and his goons were apprehended and taken away, Marinette, still transformed, was dragged by Batman to some sort of portal thing (Marinette had no idea) and suddenly, she was in space and placed in a holding cell. Hooray.

"Why exactly am I here?" Marinette asked, although she had a pretty good hunch.

"You attack both Robin and I, before going off to fight Two-Face. For all I know, the fight with Two-Face was staged and you work with him."

"Okay..." Marinette said. "That doesn't explain why I am in space, rather than in Gotham. I would also like to remind you that I didn't do anything to you and Robin other than defend myself."

"I need to keep you in a place where you can't use your powers to get out," Batman said simply, ignoring the other half of her statement. "I also need one of our magic users to analyze you."

"Listen, I haven't done anything wrong, there is absolutely no reason for me to be held here."

But Batman didn't reply, simply giving her a glance, before leaving the holding cells.

Great. Just great

* * *

"So, Batman, mind explaining why there's a kid in the holding cells?" Superman asked, looking at the monitors.

"I need Zatanna's help with figuring out her abilities. I don't think she's any ordinary meta," Batman replied gruffly.

"That still doesn't explain the whole kid in a holding cell thing," Superman said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"She was running around Gotham and did something to Robin and I that hade us unable to continue patrol, and then later fought Two-Face and his goons. I don't trust her."

Silence filled in between the two of them, before Superman let out a sigh.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," Superman said. "For all we know, this could all be a big misunderstanding," Superman tried to reason.

"You're weak against magic, Boyscout," Batman said, stopping Superman before he could leave. "We need to wait for Zatanna."

"She's just a kid Bru-"

The door to the monitor room opened, revealing a stressed looking Zatanna and a worried Wonder Woman. Batman didn't bother looking at either of them as he walked past them, knowing they would follow him without a word, though Diana was protesting vocally during the short trip to the holding cells.

As they got closer to the cell, a beeping sound could be heard, causing Batman and the rest to run to the cell, just in time to see an almost blinding light fill the cell before going away, revealing none other but his daughter.

She looked at them, at him, wide-eyed, shuffling herself closer to a corner.

"I-I can explain-" Marinette started, but was cut off by Diana.

"A miraculous holder," Diana said, stunned, before turning to glare at Bruce. "Why would you put a miraculous holder in a holding cell!" She turned her gaze back to Marinette, her eyes softening slightly, before she went and unlocked the cell. "Someone like her deserves respect, not a cell."

Marinette, however, didn't go to the unlocked door, her eyes instead remaining trained on all of them.

"I- I want to go home," Marinette said quietly. "I was with my brother, I need to make sure he's okay."

Marinette was looking directly at Bruce, he knew that. He had seen Jason at the diner earlier too. He just didn't know the blu-skinned girl was Marinette.

Diana looked between Bruce and Marinette, seeming to pick up on the tension, before nodding at the young girl.

"Of course, I'll help you get back to Gotham-"

"I'll do it," Batman said, voice and shoulders tense.

Superman didn't seem to be on board with the idea.

"I don't think that-"

"It's okay," Marinette reassured the caped Boyscout. "I won't mind."

Marinette quietly walked out of her cell and up to the side of Batman, their contrast quite fascinating to the other League members, as the two shuffled out of the cell holding area, the door closing behind them.

"What the actual fuck," Zatanna said.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7: Heroes/Villains
> 
> I changed today's prompt from 'Fashion show' to 'Heroes/Villains' since it felt more fitting from where last chapter left off.
> 
> Also, here are the ages.
> 
> Damian: 11-12  
> Tim: 15-16  
> Marinette: 15-16  
> Jason: 18  
> Dick: 23  
> Bruce: 37

There was a deafening silence in the dining room of that manor, and Marinette was in the dead-center of it all. Jason, Tim, Damian and Bruce were all at the table with her, Dick having been contacted and on his way.

Marinette squirmed, refusing to meet any of their gazes.

"Start talking," Bruce grumbled out, his eyes unreadable.

Marinette took a breath, gathering courage, before turning a leveled glance at Bruce. "Well, what do you want me to say?" She asked.

Bruce clenched his jaw, his hands tightening into fists, knuckles turning white before he relaxed them again. "I want you to tell me what happened today."

Silence filled the room again as Marinette turned her imploring gaze to the people who were supposed to be her family.

Damian sat, arms crossed and feigning disinterest, but Marinette knew better, could see in his eyes that he wanted answers just as much as Bruce, even if he wanted to pretend that he had no interest in what Marinette did from the moment she arrived in the manor all that time ago.

Tim didn't bother hiding his curiosity, his gaze open and searching for knowledge.

Jason, Marinette almost had to divert her eyes. She could see the concern, the concern he pretended not to have, and it made guilt swarm her stomach to the point it started to ache. She hadn't meant to worry him, hadn't thought about it when she transformed, other than how she was the only one able to keep everyone safe at that moment, including him.

"I was getting tired of being stuck in the manor. I wanted to get out, and I knew you wouldn't be here to stop me."

"Your powers-"

"I was getting to that," Marinette cut him off, eyes narrowed. "My powers come from a magical artifact, gifted to me some time ago. The miraculous of awakening," she explained. "It allows me to transform and gain powers in a short while, before the miraculous needs to recharge again.

"I first learned about miraculous 3 years ago, when a supervillain named Hawkmoth started attacking Paris, using people's negative emotions against them and turning them into monsters and villains for the heroes of Paris to fight.

"This miraculous," Marinette said, gesturing to the brooch on her shirt. "Was used by Hawkmoth's assistant. It was given to me after they were defeated, the same day maman and papa..." Tears started welling in her eyes and she took a shaking breath, blinking the tears away. "This miraculous was broken before I got it."

"Were you... were you one of the heroes?" Tim asked.

Marinette was silent for a moment, thinking, before nodding. "Yeah. Multimouse, for a short while."

Tim's interest was inevitably raised. "What happened?"

"One of the other heroes figured out my identity. With a villain who's whole MO was go into your head and manipulate your feelings for his own gain, it was too risky for anyone to know."

"Why give you a new miraculous after your villain was beaten, though?" Tim questioned.

"Beats me, it wasn't me who gave it to myself," Marinette said with a wry grin. "Just like I didn't choose to become Multimouse, I was picked for it."

* * *

Bruce was at a loss.

After Marinette had said her piece, she had gone to bed, having nothing left to say. Bruce was simply left speechless.

He had tried to protect Marinette from the very moment she came to Gotham because he thought she was something that she wasn't. He thought, that she was too innocent to get involved in this kind of world, but now...

Marinette had never needed him or needed vigilantism. She did the things she did, not because she had a need to be reformed, but because of the goodness in her heart, because she believed people were worth fighting for.

It reminded Bruce of himself when he first became Batman.

Now, he felt jaded just by the thought of what she might have gone through. And he still didn't know what to do about it. Should he ask her to join the Justice League? Young Justice? Should he demand that she retire? Would she even listen to whatever he had to say to her?

Marinette was someone Bruce did not know how to control, despite his controlling nature. He knew what to do about everything else, about everyone else, except for his own daughter.

It was clear that whatever opinions she held, morally or superficially, they were something she held strong and with conviction. For once in his life, Bruce had encountered something he could not control.

Now, as he sat in the Batcave, looking at the monitors as they showed fight after fight that had taken place in Paris, he could only feel himself getting sicker and sicker, with the thought that this was her everyday life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8: Driving

It had been suffocating in the manor. Jason had been gone a lot since the reveal and it felt a lot more lonely, even when they didn't actually talk as much as Marinette might have liked.

Still, when Marinette would go out at night using the peacock miraculous, she steered clear of the batclan, and she never talked about it with anyone in the manor. An unspoken truth of sorts, and Marinette wondered if that had been what was wrong, what had made Jason avoid talking to her or even his reason for stopping staying at the manor as often.

It made Marinette want to spend as little time as possible in the manor, but where else was she supposed to go. She couldn't go out to meet with friends because, shocker, all of her friends lived in France and she was alone in a foreign country with an overprotective dad that tried to avoid interacting with her as much as humanly possible.

She was questioning why she had come to Gotham, why she had come to live with Bruce, all over again, even when she knew it would get her nowhere.

There were only so many times she could go out to shop fabrics or sketchbooks or sightsee.

What was she supposed to do now?

Marinette did have things to do, but what was she supposed to do once she was done with those things?

A knock at her door pulled Marinette out of her reverie, forcing her to face the blank page she had been staring at for the past twenty minutes. Marinette looked at her door, eyes furrowed as she slowly got up from her seat and hesitantly placing her hand on the handle. Taking a breath and letting it out as a sigh, she opened the door, coming face to face with Tim, which made her pause.

Tim was probably Marinette's second favorite sibling out of all of them, and the one she had the most in common with. He had been largely indifferent to her since she arrived, certainly nicer to her than Damian. Marinette also knew he was the most curious about the miraculous, probably only surpassed by Bruce himself.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Marinette asked, confusion clear in her voice.

"I um, I was gonna go meet with some of my friends," Tim started, avoiding eye-contact. "I wanted to ask Alfred to drive and I was wondering if maybe, you would be interested to come with me?"

Marinette looked at Tim, really looked, for any sign that he might have been trying to deceive her, but there was nothing, as much as Marinette's mind was screaming at her not to trust him.

"Sorry if this seems rude but, why are you asking me to join you?" she questioned further, doubt lacing her tone and causing Tim to finally look at her, swallowing.

"I promise there is no ulterior reason for it, I just..." Tim let out a sigh. "You've been through a lot, and you've been through it alone. No one knew about what was going on in your life before and you probably didn't have anyone to talk to about it and well... my friends have expressed an interest in getting to know you and I think it's only fair that, after everything that we as a family have so far put you through, that I give you a support system that will actually support you."

Marinette stared at him, wide-eyed. From what she knew of Tim, it was that he was a little socially awkward and bad at feelings, and yet...

"Thank you..." Marinette said, breathing out shakily. "I um- I would really like that, actually."

Tim smiled, small and awkward. "No worries, I'll leave you to get ready, and then we'll go." 

Tim left, Marinette closing the door and leaning against it, a small, shaky smile overcoming her features as tears gently fell down her cheeks.

* * *

Despite what Marinette expected, the drive to meet Tim's friends wasn't awkward. The two didn't speak much in the car, but the silence was one of understanding, that this car ride, that this meeting of friends, was a small step in the process of building a friendship.

Marinette looked at the grey clouds in the sky, feeling at peace once again after that horrible week, leaning her head against the cool glass, breathing in the world and exhaling herself, without feeling the breath was punched out of her.

The car rice was steady, and Marinette hoped that her friendship with Tim would be the same, calm and not too fast. She wanted the chance to take it all in, something she may have overlooked with Jason, desperate for any kind of family here in Gotham.

She knew she was driving uphill, but for once, it finally felt doable.


End file.
